Dust is the enemy of all things clean. It can settle and get into even the most out-of-the-way places before you realize it, and it seemingly always comes out of nowhere. Fortunately, you don’t have to let dust dominate your life. There are ways to fight back.

However, no matter how much you clean, sometimes it seems like you always miss a few specks of dust. You’re more right than you know. That’s because dust itself is a byproduct of living. You’ve probably heard that dust is made up predominately of dead skin. Fortunately, that’s not truly the case.

Contrary to popular belief, dust is primarily composed of pollen, dirt, and various particles that accumulate from the outdoors. That means that with the right approach, you can prevent dust from being a problem in the first place. But what is the proper process, and how can you implement it?

Several proven methods can help you reduce the amount of dust in your office building. But, of course, most of these tricks should be practiced alongside regular cleaning, which you may already be doing. So if you’re itching to learn simple tips on how to eliminate dust and restore order to the chaos, you’re in the right place.

Removing Dust Requires Consistency

Before getting started, it’s worth noting that removing dust requires a certain amount of consistency. In other words, you need to make dusting part of your weekly cleaning regimen—otherwise, the problem could quickly get out of hand. As you cultivate effective habits, you’ll minimize the amount of dust entering your building.

Once you’ve made dusting a habit, be consistent about it. Maintaining consistency is as easy as drawing up a weekly checklist. With the prevalence of smartphones and tablets, setting reminders for yourself is easier than ever. To that effect, the key to success is instilling good habits, being consistent with them, and not allowing things to go untended for too long.

Effective Ways to Eliminate Dust

Most of the methods outlined here are simple tasks most of us should already be doing throughout the day but too often neglect to, likely because of our busy schedules. However, as you’ll see, taking a little extra time to address the dust gathering in your office building can make all the difference.

#1 Be Careful Not to Bring Dust Inside

Most dust particles are brought in from outside. That means you can prevent dust from settling by instituting policies that minimize how much gets tracked into the building in the first place.

For example, you might advise your staff not to keep doors open longer than necessary or remind them to close their windows before going home for the evening. Other changes can be structural, such as investing in quality doormats so anyone entering the building can clean off their shoes.

#2 Manage Your Materials

In an office setting, fibers from paper and clothing can loosen and fall to the floor without anyone noticing, making them a significant culprit for dust. To combat this, you must be conscious of how you store your paper files and what you do with clothing items such as overcoats and jackets. Here are some tips for each.

Reduce Clothing Fibers

Clothing can shed tiny bits of fiber when tossed around. These fibers, in turn, can settle into cracks and crevices and accumulate until they become both an eyesore and a health risk. Investing in a coat rack or clothing hangers is a great way to ensure workers and visitors aren’t tossing their jackets around. These handy devices contain the clothing in a single space you can attend to as you clean.

If you have unused clothing in the building, try to store it in a closet or box. Plastic coverings are an excellent investment, as they keep loose fibers from falling onto the floor. They also prevent dust from accumulating on the clothing.

Manage Paper Fibers

Paper is a main offender when it comes to generating dust. Not only can paper fibers find their way onto the floor at any moment, but paper itself is also one of the dust’s favorite places to accumulate. Fortunately, this problem is relatively easy to solve. Store unused paper in a filing cabinet, and regularly break down and recycle old files, cardboard, newspapers, magazines, and other paper items.

Getting rid of paper accomplishes two things: it gives dust fewer opportunities to invade your space and keeps your facility looking neat and uncluttered.

#3 Have a Regular Decluttering Schedule

If virtually every surface in your building is littered with supplies, equipment, and personal knickknacks, you can guarantee that dust will build up. Even with regular cleaning, the space will be much more challenging to navigate if there’s clutter everywhere. As such, decluttering your facility as often as possible will help you cut down on the dusting you must do.

You may recommend that your employees put their personal belongings away or take them home at the end of the day or implement regular decluttering sessions where all personnel is encouraged to keep their spaces sparse and dust-free.

Along with unnecessary clutter, you should also limit the number of fabric items left around your space since, as we’ve established, fabric attracts and stores dust over time.

#4 Clean Your Windows

Cleaning your windows will ensure that dust doesn’t become caked on them and blow into the building whenever you open the blinds. However, it’s an involved process that can be labor-intensive and time-consuming, which is why experts usually recommend breaking up the job into phases. By focusing on one step or section at a time, you can achieve a deeper clean than you could by tackling everything at once.

#5 Don’t Forget to Dust the Blinds

Arguably, the most critical step when cleaning your windows is dusting the blinds and surrounding frames. Use a damp cloth or wet dust wipe to collect as much dust as possible—the moisture will weigh down the dust and make it easier to remove. Also, make sure you track any wayward dust that tries to escape so you can prevent it from settling elsewhere.

After dusting the blinds and frames, use a glass cleaner and disinfectant to wipe the panes themselves. As always, follow the instructions for the specific product you’re using.

#6 It’s All About Ventilation

Proper ventilation is critical for health and sanitation. Constant airflow helps usher out dust; it also helps reduce harmful viruses and bacteria, which are also known to linger in the air. Ventilation is, therefore, an indispensable aid in your cleaning campaign.

If the vents and air conditioning returns in your building have seen better days, you’ll want to clean them off before you tackle the rest of the room. That way, they won’t blow dust all over your newly spotless space as soon as you switch the air back on.

When cleaning the vents, pay attention to how the air circulates through the room. This information will help explain how the dust is moving around and where it’s likely to settle.

#7 Invest in an Air Purifier

Dust is made from tiny particles of debris that are light enough to float through the air. That being the case, installing an air purifier or two can eliminate the dust particles before they have an opportunity to settle. In addition to reducing the amount of dust that accumulates in your building, an air purifier can make breathing much easier.

Air purifiers work by filtering the air in the room. As it pulls in air, it also pulls in all the particulate matter that happens to be floating in it. You’ll likely marvel at how much dust your air purifier collects after running for only a few days.

#8 Invest in a Vacuum with a HEPA Filter

Not all vacuums are created equal. If your goal is to banish dust more effectively, you’ll want to use a vacuum with a HEPA filter. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “This type of air filter can theoretically remove at least 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria, and any airborne particles.”

HEPA (short for “high-efficiency particulate air”) filters are specialized filters designed to remove a wide range of indoor air pollutants effectively. They can trap most particulate matter in the air that’s 0.3 microns or smaller.

A micron is a unit of measurement equal to one-millionth of a meter or one-thousandth of a millimeter (that’s small!). So as you can imagine, dust particles smaller than 0.3 microns can be a pain to deal with—unless you have an air purifier and vacuum with a HEPA filter.

#9 Keep Lint Rollers Handy

Lint rollers are valuable for removing particles from clothing, upholstered furniture, lampshades, and other fabric surfaces. They’re highly convenient due to their compact size and general ease of application. They’re also sort of fun to use. Make lint rollers available to your employees and office personnel, and you’re guaranteed to see stray dust vanish in no time. As a bonus, if your employees are mainly customer-facing, this little trick can also keep them looking their best throughout the day!

Leave the Heavy Work to the Professionals

We hope you enjoyed this guide on how to eliminate dust in the office! At 360clean, dusting and commercial cleaning is nothing new. For nearly two decades, 360clean has offered health-focused office cleaning services for businesses throughout the United States. In that time, we think we’ve perfected the art of keeping businesses looking their best.

We understand that safeguarding the health and well-being of your employees, customers, and vendors is your top priority. That’s why we deploy our proven JaniMed® system. The system consists of specialized training, hospital-grade disinfectants, touch surface disinfection, and state-of-the-art equipment, including micro-fiber technology and Hepa Vacuums with four levels of filtration. The best part is that we can often implement our JaniMed® system at the same price or even less than your current commercial cleaning service.

To learn more about our commercial cleaning services for warehouses, contact us today for a free quote. Thanks for stopping by our blog; we hope to help you soon!

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